


Blossoms

by AnnaOnTheMoon



Category: Star Trek: The Next Generation
Genre: Dixon Hill, F/M, Fluff, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-19
Updated: 2019-01-19
Packaged: 2019-10-12 22:15:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,034
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17475953
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnnaOnTheMoon/pseuds/AnnaOnTheMoon
Summary: It's Beverly's birthday, and she receives a message to meet Jean-Luc on the holodeck.  Jean-Luc receives a similar message.Partially inspired by Glenn Miller's Moonlight Serenade.





	Blossoms

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Acceptance](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13848711) by [GottaHaveAName](https://archiveofourown.org/users/GottaHaveAName/pseuds/GottaHaveAName). 



> I wrote this back in May when GottaHaveAName and I were brainstorming ideas for his Acceptance story. Naturally, I wanted to add a little Picard/Crusher to his story and he's humoured me and added them in, so I wrote this and then forgot about it! 
> 
> If you haven't yet read Acceptance, please do! It's brilliant!

Beverly Crusher adjusted her hat on her head as she approached the holodeck with a grin.  It was her birthday today and she had received a mysterious unsigned message which read, “ _meet me on holodeck 4J. Wear the cream suit_ ”.  It could only have come from one person – her best friend, the man she was in love with, and the Captain of the starship she served on rolled into  one Captain Jean-Luc Picard.  She was pleasantly surprised when she came across the message as Jean-Luc had wished her a happy birthday this morning at breakfast and asked her to join him for a celebratory dinner that evening, but perhaps he had something planned on the holodeck. 

“Computer: Open door.” 

The door opened and displayed the outer office for Detective Dixon Hill, a holonovel character Jean-Luc liked to play.  Beverly had joined him several times as Dix’s companion, but usually she was assisting him with his cases, not entering his office as a client.  She wondered what her role would be today. Was she going to be his damsel in distress or his partner?  She grinned as she remembered the last mystery they solved together.  Of course, they always knew the outcome since Jean-Luc had insisted Beverly read the novels before participating, but it was still an enjoyable afternoon.  She smoothed down her skirt and approached the receptionist – Madeline, she thought her name might have been.  Madeline looked her up and down and pressed the intercom.  “Hey, Dix, you got a lady here to see you.  Nice legs.”   _Hmm.  I must not be Red this time around.  I wonder what the mystery will be?_

Beverly listened as the smooth baritone of her best friend came though the tinny speaker. “ _Send her in.”_

###

Jean-Luc Picard was puttering around his quarters, debating what he should do for his best friend’s – and the object of his desire – birthday that evening.  He had invited her over for dinner, and he wanted it to be perfect.  More than their usual friendly dinners, he wanted something special for Beverly Crusher’s birthday.  He reached onto a high shelf and pulled down a pair of candlesticks and placed them on the table.  _Too romantic?_   He shook his head.  He didn’t want to make Beverly uncomfortable, but it was a special occasion, after all.  By some unspoken agreement, they never mentioned their feelings towards one another. 

They had been close for over twenty years, meeting when Beverly had started dating his second officer and best friend, Jack Crusher.  Beverly had married his friend and had a son with him, and then Jack had tragically been killed on an away mission when Wesley was only five.  Jean-Luc and Beverly had remained close, and even shared living quarters after his old ship, the _Stargazer_ , had been destroyed.  But they were always careful to keep their relationship just on the side of friendship. 

His computer chimed with a message and he went over to check. It was unsigned, but read: _“Dix, meet me on holodeck 4J.”_   Jean-Luc grinned.  There were few people who would willingly indulge him in his passion for the Dixon Hill holonovels, but Beverly was the only one who would ever suggest it first.  Jean-Luc picked a bottle of wine to take with him to the holodeck and whistled to himself as he went to change into his Dixon Hill costume.  He wondered what programme Beverly had selected, or if she just wanted to spend her birthday in 1940s San Francisco. 

When Jean-Luc approached the holodeck,  he was surprised to see a programme already running.  He checked the console, and saw that there wasn’t any particular mystery loaded, just the general scenario of Dixon Hill’s office.  He grinned and commanded the holodeck doors to open.  Madeline looked up.  “Hiya Dix.”

“Good afternoon, Madeline. Any messages?”

“Nah, you know business has been slow lately. Speaking of....when am I gonna get paid? I ain’t workin’ for free, ya know.”  Jean-Luc cast a wry smile at his secretary.  “Soon, Mads.  I promise.”

“Hey, what’s that under your arm? Can’t pay me but you can buy fancy wine?”  Madeline frowned at her boss.  It really wasn’t fair.   Jean-Luc shook his head. “It’s a gift for a friend.”

“Oh.”

“I’ll be in my office.  Let me know when my friend arrives.”   Madeline raised her eyebrows at her boss. “is it a _lady_ friend?” 

Jean-Luc grinned. “Oh yes. Yes, indeed.”  Madeline rolled her eyes and wondered what new floozy Dix had gotten tangled up in as he shut the door to his inner office.  She resumed filing her nails.  She honestly didn’t know why she stuck with Dixon Hill. She could get another job anywhere, but she actually liked the guy. 

Madeline looked up when the tall, leggy, beautiful red-head stepped into the office and whistled slightly.  “You here for Dix?”  The woman nodded.  Madeline pressed the intercom.

Jean-Luc jumped when the intercom buzzed.  _“_ Yes?”

 _“Hey, Dix, you got a lady here to see you.  Nice legs.”_ Jean-Luc grinned.  Must be Beverly.  “Send her in.”

Jean-Luc rose when Beverly opened the door to his office.  She looked beautiful in her cream suit.  He walked around the desk and took her hands in his.  “Hello Beverly, Happy birthday.” He leaned in and gave her a kiss on her cheek. 

“Thank you for inviting me, Jean-Luc,”  Beverly returned the kiss, but placed hers slightly closer to his mouth.  Jean-Luc grinned.

“Bev...What are you talking about? You sent me a message to meet you here.  Not that I’m complaining.  I love the Dixon Hill holonovels, and you look lovely in your suit, but it didn’t seem like something you would pick for your birthday.”  Beverly frowned.  “I didn’t ask you here.  Why would I plan my own birthday celebration?  You definitely invited me here. You sent me a message.  ‘ _Meet me on the holodeck, wear the cream suit.”_ Jean-Luc gave her hands still held in his a squeeze.

“Beverly...I didn’t.  I had a message from _you_ that said ‘ _Dix, meet me on the holodeck’_ ”.  He frowned.  “Why would someone play a prank on us like this?” 

Realisation slowly dawned on Beverly and she threw back her head and laughed.  “The kids.” 

“The kids?”  Beverly grinned.  “How much do you want to bet that Wesley orchestrated this and roped Darcy and possibly Esorn into helping to set it up?” 

“But why?”  Beverly rolled her eyes at her companion.  “For my birthday?  I bet Wesley and Darcy wrote some kind of program that would keep the rest of the ship from bothering us.”  Jean-Luc frowned. “Commander Riker _did_ seem a little too happy when I told him he had the bridge for the afternoon.” 

“I bet they roped him into it, too.  I wouldn’t be surprised if Data and Geordi were involved, too.” 

Jean-Luc frowned.  “So you didn’t want to join me in here?” 

“Oh Jean-Luc,” Beverly gave his hands a squeeze.  “We’re here now, and it’s my birthday. We might as well enjoy ourselves.  Is that a bottle of your wine I spy on your desk?”  He nodded. “I’m not sure how clean Dix’s glasses will be, though.”

“Never mind.  I can handle a little holographic dirt.”  Beverly perched on the edge of Dixon’s desk and unpinned her hat, shaking out her curls in the process.  Jean-Luc’s eyes darkened with hidden desire.  “Have I...have I told you you look lovely?”  Beverly softly smiled.  “Not yet, but thank you.  You’re looking pretty dapper yourself.” Beverly reached out to trace down the lapel of his jacket and Jean-Luc closed his eyes. 

“So...uh...wine?”  Beverly nodded, still holding her hat in one hand.  “Uhm....let me...take your hat?”  Beverly held out her hat and Jean-Luc took it and placed it on top of the low bookcase-turned-bar in Dixon’s office.  Jean-Luc sorted through the glasses until he found two that looked slightly clean.  Neither were wine goblets.  One glass had a bumpy pattern on it with a short stem, and the other was of thinner glass with a delicate etched pattern on it.  He poured out the wine and stood in front of Beverly.  “To... you, my dear.  Happy Birthday.”  Their glasses clinked and they sipped on the wine and Beverly couldn’t help but let out a small giggle. 

“What’s so funny?”

“You.”  Jean-Luc raised his eyebrows at his friend. “Me?”

“Yeah, you.” Beverly drained her glass and held it out to him before she hopped off the desk and stood in front of him.  “Dance with me?”

“We don’t have any music?”  Beverly frowned and cast her eyes around the office. “I suppose it would be cheating if we asked the computer to play some music for us?”  Jean-Luc nodded and placed their glasses back on the makeshift bar.

“It would.  But...it _is_ your birthday. I think we can make the exception.”  His eyes twinkled.  “Computer: Play music appropriate to the time period –“ 

“Something we can dance to,” Beverly interjected.  Jean-Luc gave her a wry smile. “Something we can dance to.”  He took her hand and led her over to a patch of thread worn carpet and took her in his arms as Glenn Miller’s ‘Moonlight Serenade’ filled the office.  He inhaled the delicate scent of her hair and her perfume. 

 _“I stand at your gate, and the song that I sing is of moonlight....”_  The lights in the office seemed to dim of their own accord and the small room was flooded with moonlight.  Jean-Luc grinned.  _Wesley must have programmed the song in too.  He_ does _know his mother well_.  Beverly rested her head against Jean-Luc’s shoulder and breathed in his cologne.  He still wore the scent she had given him for his birthday fifteen years ago.  It was a familiar scent, one she enjoyed having wrapped around her.  She happily sighed.

 _“The stars are aglow and tonight how their light sets me dreaming.”_   Jean-Luc twirled Beverly in his arms.  He always would say he hated dancing, but the truth was, he only enjoyed dancing when he was with Beverly.  She usually accompanied him to diplomatic functions and Starfleet balls and banquets and he was only comfortable with her in his arms.   He brushed his lips against her cheek and whispered into her ear the next line of the song. “ _My love, do you know that your eyes are like stars brightly beaming?”_   Beverly smiled as his hand strayed down her back and she shivered through the layers of clothing at his warm touch.  “Cold?”  She shook her head.

“No,”  Beverly let her fingers play with the small patch of hair on the  back of Jean-Luc’s neck and it was his turn to shiver.  “Are you?”  Jean-Luc groaned and buried his face in her hair.  “No.  Beverly, I...”

“Shhhh,” she pressed her lips to his ear. “ _So don’t let me wait, come to me tenderly in the June night...”_ She gently bit down.   Jean-Luc raised his eyebrows and leaned back slightly.  He looked into her eyes and saw love.  “Oh, Beverly....” He crushed his lips against hers and deepened the kiss, wrapping his arms around her tighter.  Her hands came forward and she pushed his jacket off his shoulders without breaking the kiss and started untucking his shirt.  His hands went to the delicate buttons holding her jacket closed and he briefly pulled away from their kiss to silently ask her permission.  She nodded, and he unbuttoned the jacket, revealing the top of a silk chemise underneath. She grinned against his lips and reached for the clasp on her skirt and sent it to the floor.  His lips then found her collar bone, and he gently sucked on the porcelain skin as she fumbled with the buttons on his shirt and pushed his trousers down his legs. 

“Beverly?”

“Jean-Luc...I want this...I want you.” 

“Oh, my love.” He crushed his lips to hers once more and lifted her up. She wrapped her legs around his waist and he carried her over to the desk and sat her down gently on the edge.  “Happy birthday, my love.”

_“I stand at your gate and I sing you a song in the moonlight,_

_A love song, my darling, a moonlight serenade.”_

**Author's Note:**

> Italic lyrics towards the end are from Glenn Miller's'Moonlight Serenade'


End file.
